Gig review: Super Furry Animals, Glasgow

FIONA SHEPHERD

Welsh sonic wonders Super Furry Animals have only been on pause for six years, but this show had all the hallmarks of a euphoric comeback, saluted by the capacity crowd as if they had just made it through a melody drought to fall at the feet of these pop saviours in white boilersuits.

Super Furry Animals - O2 Academy, Glasgow

* * * *

As the band who just got on with being playfully brilliant through the late 1990s and into the noughties, they had a formidable catalogue to draw on for this celebratory greatest hits set which hit the ground running with the euphoric momentum of (Drawing) Rings Around the World, garagey thrash of Do or Die and aural Prozac of Northern Lites, all accompanied by cheers of recognition as the relevant album covers flashed up on the backdrop.

There was a slight dip in jubilation levels during a medley of low-key tracks from their re-released Welsh language album Mwng before they revved up again with the exuberant space pop of God! Show Me Magic, blissful croon of Juxtaposed With U and glorious glam garage of Golden Retriever, then asserted their clubby credentials with the acid dance odyssey Receptacle for the Respectable – complete with live munching, originally performed by Sir Paul McCartney on the recorded version – and traditional set-closer The Man Don’t Give A F***, their trippy takedown of the political elite, never truer than on the eve of an election.